Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1957)

ADVERTISERS & AGENCIES CONTINUED and (2) sports is a good background for appetite appeal. On that basis, it launched the WOR-TV series. The Kitchens of Sara Lee Inc. claims it was the first company to bake "quality" cakes for mass distribution through groceries and supermarkets. Before it unveiled its cream cheese and All Butter coffee cakes in 1951, it points out, price and size were considerations dictated by the grocery cake business rather than "highest possible quality." Sara Lee claims it started the trend toward making baked products which use "only the finest ingredients." Over 80% of the ingredients used in its cakes are dairy products, according to Sara Lee. It claims to use more 93 score butter and pure cream cheese than any bakery or food manufacturer in the country (the firm uses more than two million pounds of butter each year), along with "farm-fresh eggs" and "rich fresh milk." (Sample: nearly a quarter of a pound of butter is used in each coffee cake and nearly a third of a pound of Kraft cream cheese in each cheese cake.) Powdered eggs and dry milk — or synthetic flavoring or artificial coloring — never are used in any product, the company claims. Through such innovations, Sara Lee maintains, the product is made attractive enough to persuade the consumer to pay 79 cents when the average price of grocery store coffee cake ranges from 29 to 49 cents. The Kitchens of Sara Lee was the dreamchild of Charles Lubin early in 1951 (he is still president of the Consolidated subsidiary), with little more than a knowledge of baking, limited capital ($15,000) and the determination "to bake a cake no woman could duplicate for the same price and to make it available to her close to home." Mr. Lubin (who named the company after his 15-year-old daughter) still personally supervises all operations involving 150 bakers, plant expansion and 24-hour delivery service of a fleet of 44 trucks over some 75 Chicago routes. Volume rose from $400,000 in 1951 to PRESIDENT Charles W. Lubin and "that man" compare sales talks concerning the Sept. 20 entry of the baking firm into network time. Sara Lee has scheduled five quarter-hours a month on CBS Radio's Arthur Godfrey Show in varying time periods, marking the firm's first use of network time. Page 42 • October 7, 1957 $1 million in 1952, over $3 million in 1953 and $5 million in 1955 — largely because of radio-tv saturation campaigns and judicious use of supporting print media. Mr. Lubin allocated $25,000 for all media in. 1951 and approximately $840,000 in 1956, while broadcast media's share rose from 45% to 60% (both calendar years). Radio-tv annual going outlays (now about 70%) may be increased with projection into 1958 since Sara Lee recently altered its fiscal year to conform with Consolidated's July 1-June 30 structure. In short, fiscal 1958 (July 1-June 30 next) may show heavier expenditures (than $1.4 million) and greater radio-tv share (than 70%) over calendar 1957. As the home territory, Chicago was the center of Sara Lee's modest initial activity. The company sponsored Creative Cookery and Garfield Goose on tv in 1951 and gradually expanded into other markets for its coffee cake and cream cheese cake, including Springfield (111.)", Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston (Texas) and other cities. It bought personalities on established shows and short-term radio-tv announcements, and ran a test tv drive in select eastern markets. With about 75% of all major markets covered, Sara Lee in September 1955 invaded New York and parts of New Jersey, along with other cities, in an introductory spot campaign that gained consumer acceptance. (It already had blanketed Boston, Buffalo, Rochester, Atlanta, Memphis, Louisville, Nashville, Detroit and a few other cities and bought chainbreaks in 10 major markets around Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Club on ABC-TV outlets. It also was ready to unveil its frozen cakes and had completed national distribution for three products.) In New York it bought a limited number of spots for its coffee, cheese and butter pound cakes. In February 1956 Sara Lee followed through with the "strongest concentrated advertising campaign in the history of frozen foods." The occasion: introduction of its new Sara Lee chocolate cake in its first frozen food market. It bought some 500 radio-tv announcements embracing New York and suburbs and northern New Jersey during that month. It also mailed brochures of its spot and newspaper ad schedule to more than 20,000 food stores and supermarkets. The new campaign was described by Sara Lee executives as "doubtless one of the largest and most concentrated consumer promotions ever staged by any frozen food manufacturer." Mr. Hill noted that Sara Lee, at that time, spent about three times as much on advertising in Chicago as any other bakery. As a consequence of the New York success, Sara Lee moved into Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington in April 1956 with a similar saturation push consisting of 50 radio and 50 tv announcements for four weeks in each market, with commercials pointing up all four Sara Lee fresh-frozen products. It repeated multi-product drives in other cities last year. Later Sara Lee introduced its complete line with campaigns in Miami and Los Angeles, giving the company distribution in all but the northwest part of the country. It later bought the bowling shows on WBBM-TV and WOR-TV and participations on WGN Chicago radio. Consolidated acquired Sara Lee last August, because of the latter's "growth potential," in a deal involving the issuance of some 1 60,000 shares of common Consolidated stock, according to S. M. Kennedy, Consolidated president. Mr. Lubin was retained as president and new board member. Hard-pressed to keep pace with public demand for the company's products, Mr. Lubin notes, Sara Lee acknowledged that the opportunity for expansion was a "major consideration" in the agreement. Consolidated is one of the most diversified companies in the food field. Revlon Plans Entry In New Product Fields Revlon plans to make a name for itself in other fields of endeavor, principally in household products and proprietary drugs, it was indicated last week. It was learned that the world's largest cosmetics house (estimated sales for the first six months of 1957, $47 million; advertising budget, $16 million) shortly will begin testing a new liquid detergent named Fine & Handy and intends crashing the grocery stores with a new room deodorizer. At the same time, Revlon will come out with proprietary drugs such as the yet-to-betested Thin Down pill and an acne preparation called Clearaway. It also will expand its line of hair sprays. As the smoke cleared last week following Revlon's rupture with BBDO [B«T, Sept. 23], the pattern of new agency assignments emerged as follows: • Warwick & Legler: in addition to the BBDO-inherited (and already introduced) Futurama lipsticks and nail enamels and Touch 'n Glow eye makeups, rouges and manicuring aids, W & L will handle the new Fine & Handy liquid detergent, Revlon gift sets (for Christmas) and a hair spray now tagged only as "No. 3." In addition to the two $64,000 quiz programs — W & L will place all "tune-in ads" for the two CBSTV shows. Total Revlon billing as of next Jan. 1 : $6 million. • C. J. La Roche: This agency will be responsible for the introduction and subsequent advertising for Clearaway, the acne preparation plus a new face cream called Seven Wonders, and will be responsible for a new make-up line. On Jan. 1, La Roche will assume BBDO's duties for Satin Set. Currently in the shop: Love Pat, Clean 'n Clear make-up remover, Moon Drops face cream, Liquid Asset face cream, Intimate colognes and Aerosol sprays, the "treatment line" (Second Nature, Build Up, White Sable) and Fire and Ice fragrances. Total Revlon billing at present: $5 million. • Dowd, Redfield & Johnstone: Its inheritance from BBDO will be a new eye drop product now being tested and named Eye Fresh. Also newly-assigned (direct from Revlon) : Sponge Cake, a new cake makeup; Thin Down, a reducing pill, and another hair spray, internally known as "No. Broadcasting • Telecasting